Lakewood DCFS office gets much-needed makeover thanks to Ikea prize

LAKEWOOD - Children visiting the Department of Children and Family Services used to have to wait in a room with broken furniture and equipment.

Now, thanks to a $10,000 prize from Ikea, the Lakewood office of the DCFS has undergone a significant upgrade - complete with a flat-screen TV, new Blue Ray DVD player and DVDs and a Wii video console and games.

Officials celebrated the unveiling of the waiting room Thursday.

"It's really exciting that something so good came out of an application," said Tracy Souder, a former DCFS intern who submitted the Ikea application.

"It's great to know the kids have a safe and fun place they can go when they are going through such a difficult time. It went from such a dismal place to a beautiful, colorful room that kids can enjoy."

Last December, Ikea's Carson store issued its Life Improvement Challenge to win $10,000 in Ikea products and supplies for a design makeover.

Roberta Thomas, a supervising children's social worker at the Lakewood office, rallied her social work interns from Cal State Long Beach to gather the needed votes to redesign the room.

The interns' campaign generated 2,800 votes - and the $10,000 prize. The DCFS application was chosen from hundreds submitted to Ikea to win the award.

"This award from Ikea was the result of incredible teamwork and collaboration with DCFS staff from all offices voting, as well as friends and family," Thomas said. "Our Cal State Long Beach interns have maintained the children's room for over seven years, and this award is due, in large part, to their efforts over the years to find resources for the children."

A lack of funds made it impossible to purchase new equipment and furniture for the room, so interns cleaned and maintained the room for more than seven years.

The goal of the upgrade is for children to feel safe in an environment with people they've only known a short time, said Jamie Estrada, a supervising children's social worker at the Lakewood office.

"Prior to the Ikea donation ... the children's room was inadequate, so it was really hard for staff to feel comfortable to have the children in there," he said.

Among the items donated were new built-in cabinets, a new sink, flat-screen TV, new Blue Ray DVD player and DVDs, a Wii video console and games, rugs, couches, tables, cribs, a baby changing table and toys worth $15,000.

"It means a lot that we could be able to help, substantially, organizations in our community," said Jessica Azerrad, local marketing specialist at Ikea Carson. "Everybody at this location got together and were happy to help for a worthy cause. It means so much to us to be able to help someone like this."